LET’S GO DUTCH
Fringe Bar, 26-32 Allen St, Te Aro, Wellington
23/07/2014 - 23/07/2014
Production Details
NETHERLANDS MAGICIAN FRITZ ALKEMADE INVITES YOU TO ‘GO DUTCH’
The Netherlands has a longstanding tradition in magic, and that tradition continues with Fritz Alkemade, who brings his award-winning one-man show Let’s GoDutch to Wellington’s Fringe Bar for one night, 23 July 2014.
After performing across Europe and North America, Alkemade comes to the Southern Hemisphere for the first time. Fresh from performances in Australia, the Wellington Magic Club is proud to bring Fritz to Wellington for this one off performance.
Let’s Go Dutch has appeared at the Edinburgh Magic Festival and MagicArtFest (Romania) in 2013, and the Melbourne Magic Festival in 2014.
“Everyone knows what ‘going Dutch’ means: The sharing of the bill in a restaurant,” Alkemade says, “I share emotions with the audience, but not everything; the magic has to stay in it, of course.”
Based in Amsterdam, Fritz “with a Z” Alkemade is a multi-award-winning magician who has performed all over the world, with sold out shows in England, the Netherlands, Canada, Romania, Scotland, and the worldfamous Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Let’s Go Dutch will be hosted by the Wellington Magic Club, which was formed in 2012 to encourage the pursuit and appreciation, of magic as a performing art. The Club is open to all those with an interest in magic, regardless of age or experience. Membership comes from all around the Wellington region.
Let’s Go Dutch
Fringe Bar in Wellington
23 July 2014 at 7.30pm.
Tickets cost $20, and are available through http://www.eventfinder.co.nz/.
Playful showmanship
Review by Deborah Eve Rea 25th Jul 2014
The first thing I’d like to ask Dutch magician Fritz Alkemade is how many children he has, as I have just borne witness to more dad jokes than I ever thought were humanly possible.
Fritz Alkemade is a multi-award-winning magician from the Netherlands. He has performed his magic all over the world with sold out shows in England, the Netherlands, Canada, Romania, Scotland, and The World Famous Hollywood Magic Castle.
In Let’s Go Dutch, Alkemade performs a mixture of slight of hand, card tricks and close-up illusion among others. The show is divided into segments marked by a recorded voice, which asks questions to Alkemade about his life and experiences. Alkemade answers with some storytelling to the audience and a magic trick to conclude his response.
Alkemade is very playful with his audience and most tricks involve audience volunteers. He successfully gets us on-side early on by offering us the opportunity to boo him if we are unimpressed, adding a few cheeky opportunities for us to call out our displeasure.
Only one trick fails in its execution. In his mad rush to complete “the world’s fastest magic trick”, Alkemade omits the instructions to the audience member to start their stopwatch so the trick in turn goes untimed. Alkemade’s playfulness helps him to cover well with humour and he moves on with the audience’s full support.
Some segments of the show use background music, only the music is played far too loud and drowns out Alkemade’s dialogue (despite his wearing a microphone). With Fringe Bar’s speakers aimed straight out from the stage to the audience the music at times assaults the ears.
Highlights of the night include an on-going slight-of-hand gag with a lemon and a medley of card tricks done to pop songs, both of which utilise Alkemade’s showmanship and sense of humour auspiciously.
As Let’s Go Dutch wraps, Alkemade dedicates the show to the passengers of MH17 and their families. Despite the trauma happening to many in his home country, Alkemade has brought joy to audiences here in Wellington tonight.
E aroha nui atu ana ki a koutou i tēnei wā. Kia kaha.
Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer
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